ATHENS — Georgia coach Mark Richt said running back Isaiah Crowell sat out the early portion of Tuesday’s practice in order to get treatment for an ailing knee. Both Richt and Crowell said it is only a minor injury and won’t sideline the Bulldogs’ leading rusher for Kentucky.
“His knee was sore,” Richt said. “It was nothing real serious, but we wanted to get him some treatment. He did do all the scout work [Tuesday]. That was by design. But he was getting treatment during the early parts of practice.”
In part because Crowell and the other backs “are beat up a little bit” and in part because of rain and a tornado watch in Athens, Richt lightened the Bulldogs’ load Wednesday.
Georgia essentially did not practice. Richt said the Bulldogs offensive and defensive teams alternated using the multi-purpose facility to go through “a walk-through” while the other team went into the weight room for “a good lifting cycle.” He said they also had a team meeting and a special-teams meeting.
Players left the Butts-Mehre football facility shortly after 6 p.m., at least an hour earlier than normal.
“Watching practice yesterday, and I thought the guys were fighting hard but they just looked tired to me,” Richt said. “As I looked at the weather forecast and it said 100 percent of rain during practice, I thought maybe it would be a good day to practice inside. I want their legs to be fresh. ... And when you go 11-on-11 like we do on Wednesdays, you could get somebody hurt in practice.”
Richt said the Bulldogs will have more of a full-speed workout Thursday.
Crowell: ‘I’m fine’
Meanwhile, Crowell said he will be 100 percent for Saturday’s game. However, he said has been playing with ailments all season.
“I have always stayed pretty healthy,” said Crowell, who leads the Bulldogs with 821 yards rushing in nine games. “I’ve had, you know, small stuff, but it wasn’t back-to-back like this. ... Something hurts all the time, but I’m getting used to it. It’s mostly aches and bruises.”
Georgians at Kentucky
Georgia has dominated its series with Kentucky, winning 50 of 64 games overall and 24 of 30 at Sanford Stadium. But over the past five years, few teams from have played the Bulldogs tougher.
The Wildcats managed to win two of those games — including 34-27 the previous time they played in Athens — and have kept it close when they haven’t won. The average margin in the past five games has been 7.8 points.
The number of Georgians on the Kentucky roster likely is a big reason for that. The Wildcats feature 21 players on their roster from the Peach State, including 14 that are included among the two-deep to play against the Bulldogs on Saturday.
“Kentucky has an awful lot of Georgia boys on their team,” Richt said during his weekly news conference Tuesday. “I know they’ve had tremendous success recruiting our state. They have gotten a lot of great players out of our state, and I’m certain that will be a big motivation for those guys. You wish you could sign all the guys in your state, but there’s just not enough room with the current rules.”
Georgians have been among Kentucky’s best players, including linebackers Braxton Kelly and Wesley Woodyard and wide receiver DeMoreo Ford.
Etc.
Richt said there’s a chance that junior tailback Richard Samuel (ankle), who had surgery Nov. 1, could return for the SEC championship game, should the Bulldogs make it. However, he said right guard Dallas Lee (broken leg) would be out until Georgia’s bowl game. ... Cornerback Jordan Love (broken hand) could return for the Georgia Tech game. ... Because of unclaimed student tickets, a limited number will go on sale online at georgiadogs.com at 9 a.m. Thursday.
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